


Aura and its Many Uses

by Synth_Bandie_17



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Aura use in Pokémon, But she’s learned to handle it well enough, But that’s all later on, Gen, Half of this is me being sleep deprived so there may be a few plot holes, Leon is champion again, Main character doesn’t want to be friendly, Mainly Grinsley since Hana is a big fan so if he was in Galar she Would Find Him., OC main character, Strong trainers from other regions probably end up in Galar during their gym challenge, and eventually she tells them why she ran to Galar, aura sorta explains Dynamax to an extent, but several people draw her softer side out, if you can’t play swsh during quarantine you write for it amiright?, main character wants to be champion, oc gym challenger, post sword and sheild games but Victor left for another region so Leon was reinstated, she doesn’t have the happiest story, take care of yourself through quarantine ok?, which is my excuse for bringing some leaders and elite four from other regions in.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synth_Bandie_17/pseuds/Synth_Bandie_17
Summary: When Hana Akatsuki moved to Galar she had simply wanted away from her broken life in Unova, and Galar was similar to home. But when the major style of Pokémon battle in a region utilizes a skill that triggers recognition of an ability someone has, that person becomes curiousHana had the Aura Sense in her. That complicated things. Galar had unstable aura. It was made that way by Eternatus, and had no one to stabilize it for many years. So when an aura adept stumbled into the region things became very dangerous.All Hana wanted to do was understand her ability and take on the Galar league, but as things became chaotic, she found herself opening up to a few people about the very thing she fled by coming to Galar in the first place. The one who called her rival from day one slowly softened. The young professor in training, Leon’s brother, had someone to help him study the Dynamax phenomenon from the inside. And the new fairy gym leader had someone that was as averse to sharing their past as he was, but who hadn’t yet come to accept it as Opal had taught him.This was all Leon’s fault. He had gone the wrong way and bumped into Hana, dragging her into a journey she never signed up for. She was grateful
Relationships: Beet | Bede&Original trainer, Dande | Leon&Original trainer, Hop&Original trainer, original trainer/original trainer
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. New Beginnings in Galar

**Author's Note:**

> Hana makes it to Galar, and bumps into someone she recognizes from her research on the place and it’s league. She also discovers she can see how dynamaxing works, how it functions on the inside.  
> This will make an interesting journey.

Hana stepped out of the airport in Motostoke and looked around. The city seemed rather large, probably as big as Castelia. Well, maybe not quite that big. She let her two Pokémon out of their balls, and focused in on the stadium. 

She had read about the gym challenge when studying about Galar in order to travel there, but she hadn’t expected the gym to be right in the center of everything. And even though it was the third gym there weren’t any obstacles one would have to pass through with their Pokémon to challenge the place. So maybe it was true that there was no out of combat use for some of the more utility based moves. 

If she remembered it right, it was right in the middle of the Gym Challenge season. So maybe someone would be challenging the gym leader in Motostoke? They were probably a fire or steel trainer, if the city was any indication of specialization in the area. 

She motioned for her partners to stay close. Remi would be fine, She was a psychic type and most people underestimated her due to the fact that solosis weren’t typically very appealing as far as baby Pokémon went. But Skully was a shiny, and even as a baby Pokémon himself that would get people’s attention. Duskull were usually not a dark maroon. He was already drawing attention, as was her outfit, modeled after dusknoir. Back home it was common for gym leaders to style their clothes based off their Pokémon. Here the gym leaders wore uniforms. 

She realized she probably was a very obvious tourist. Sure her Pokémon could be found in Galar, that was the only reason they were allowed into the region. But everything about her indicated that she was not familiar with the place. 

She made her way to the stadium, and went in. The person at what was probably where people bought tickets smiled. “May I help you? Are you here to see the next match? The first few trainers should be arriving shortly, though perhaps only one or two will make it past this gym on their first try. Leader Kabu is the first to use a Gigantimax after all!” 

“Um… Gigantimax? Is that different from the Dynamax… thing, here in Galar? I’m, uh, from Unova, and only got here recently. But yeah, I would like to watch the gym challenge, what does a ticket cost?”

The woman at the counter chuckled. “I’m not exactly the right person to ask about Dynamax or Gigantimax, but welcome to Galar! Don’t worry about a ticket. You only need to buy one if you want to meet the gym leaders after a match, basically a VIP meet and greet. Not to say people don’t, the gym leaders here have a lot of fans.”

The woman smiled. “I can book you a seat in the stands, and if you give me your contact information you’ll be notified when the next match is going to happen. Spectators that don’t pay for the VIP experience don’t get to see the first part of the gym, so you should have plenty of time to get here even if you’re in another town.”

Hana nodded. “Um… here’s my Xtransciever number… it functions as a phone but if someone else has one it can video call, but it should work.” She wrote down her name and number, and handed it over to the woman. 

“Thank you. We’ll call when a match happens! Have a good day. Enjoy your time here in Galar!”

Hana turned and walked out, before looking between her Pokémon. Both floated around eye level. “Alright, you two help me look for a hotel or inn or somewhere to stay, Alright? We could always ask someone, but I’d rather not, I really don’t wanna seem like too much of a tourist.” 

Her Pokémon nodded and went a bit farther away. She could still see them, but if they spread out, checking different streets, they might find a place to stay quicker. 

Soon enough, Skully came back, and motioned for her to follow. She did, and he led her to a place called the Budew Drop Inn. He flitted off to get Remi, and she sat on a bench to wait for them. She watched a few people pass by. Several looked like they might be gym challengers, but none seemed to be going to the stadium. 

Soon Remi and Skully came back, both a bit… confused by the fact that a man was following them. He was definitely part of the Gym Challenge thing. He had a dark grey uniform with a sword and a shield on it, and a cape with fur trim. To be honest it looked like the kind of outfit a kid would think looked cool, but was really over the top. 

Remi and Skully bobbed up and down, motioning to the trainer that was coming up to Hana. They looked… mostly just really confused and a bit nervous. 

“Excuse me, why… why are you following my partners around?” Hana asked quietly. “Were they causing trouble of some kind?”

“Oh! So you’re their trainer! No, they weren’t any trouble. I was just interested in where a red duskull was taking a… solosis, right?”

Hana nodded warily. “Yeah… Skully, Remi, stay close. We were all looking for an inn. Skully found it and brought me here, and he went to find Remi.”

The man nodded. “Well, I was just making sure they weren’t wild. We sometimes have wild Pokémon wander into the cities. They tend to panic around people, and end up attacking. These two seemed calm, but even still, it’s part of my job to keep the cities and towns of Galar safe.”

Hana did a double take, before glancing over to Remi. “So that means…” the cell Pokémon bobbed. She usually had the better memory between the three. “So… you’re the champion here?”

The man smiled. “You’re not from here. Yes, though for a while I wasn’t, but the one who beat me left and I was reinstated until the next gym challenger who could beat me. They thought since Victor beat me, someone who couldn’t beat me wouldn’t beat him. Or, something like that.”

Hana shrugged. “Seems like a good reason to me. So you’re Leon? Er- that was your name, right? You have the big charizard?”

“Of course! Charizard and I make sure everyone in Galar have a champion time! So, how long are you here for? You come to see the Gym Challenge?”

Hana shook her head. “I didn’t realize until partway through my research that it would be the Gym season. I’m here for… well, as long as I can pay for probably. I had to go somewhere though, and Galar seemed interesting. I read that the inns were rather cheap during the off season, so as long as I budget I should be fine. If I get a bit stronger I can battle as a source of money, so-“ she trailed off.

“Apologies. You didn’t ask for a life story or anything. I’m probably gonna be here for a few years at least. I’ll probably apply for a Galarian trainers license soon.”

Leon nodded. “Hm. Are you considering participating in the gym challenge? You wouldn’t have to worry about paying for a room while you’re doing that, and it’s a twice a year thing. Participants get free board in towns where gyms are at.”

Hana shrugged. “I mean, I don’t even have a Galar liscense, and it’ll be a while…”

“I can arrange that. I can even get you a Pokémon that is from here, the professor is raising some. They’re typically for new trainers, but we’ve given them to trainers who recently moved to Galar before, if they’re planning to join the Gym Challenge and haven’t been here before. These Pokémon are more used to Galar’s climate, and are good to have anyways.”

Hana thought for a moment, looking to Skully. The ghost moved in what Hana knew to be his equivalent of a shrug. He was good at reading people, but didn’t seem to be worried about Leon. And Galar’s champion was known to be kind to strangers and do his best to help people. Though…

“Why offer me this chance? Surely there are trainers in Galar- your fans even! Who you would have more reason to give this opportunity to than I?”

Leon smiled. “Who says I haven’t? Most people in Galar have competed at least once, if they’re adults they’ve probably done so multiple times. Plenty make it far, sure, and it’s great fun for everyone involved. So I try to give people who have moved recently a chance. I mean, some people come here specifically to challenge the league, and are given a special passport to do so.”

Hana nodded. That made sense. At least, it made more sense than him just letting some random person from out of the region randomly join. And to compete trainers had to get an endorsement so-

“Is this you endorsing me early? I mean it must be either that or you offering to GET me an endorsement, so…” 

Leon chuckled. “We’ll see. The champion endorsing someone tends to make them the target of attention, and not everyone likes that. But I can always get one of the gym leaders to endorse you.”

Hana nodded. “I’d prefer to let my battling speak for me. I’ve read a bit on how the challenge works. Instant fame may be for others, but it’s not really my thing.” She fidgeted with her yellow bandanna nervously. She didn’t really want the spotlight on her just for who sponsored her, though that would probably happen anyways. 

Leon nodded. “Alright. Well, if you ever need something take a flying taxi to Wedgehurst, the professor’s lab is nearby. I’m usually traveling but my brother spends a lot of time there, and he can get ahold of me.” He smiled, a faint kindness apparent in him. “I should get going, I have to oversee some things, and prepare the battle tower for after the gym challenge too. There’s a lot of work to do! But if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t be champion, now would I?” He smiled, before turning away. “Make sure you have a champion time here in Galar. Train yourself and your Pokémon until you have a chance of even beating me!”

Hana watched the man wander off. He went one way, before a charizard that was probably his famous strong one flew after him from somewhere and led him the opposite way to where he had gone. 

“Well that was interesting. What do you say we rest for now? We can call our stuff over from where the Pokémon at the airport are keeping it, they promised to send it once we messaged them our reclaim code and location. So shall we check in?” Hana’s partners both voiced agreement in their own way, staying close to her. She went into the Inn. 

Hana registered with the inn and sent for her things. A Pokémon she didn’t recognize, probably a psychic type, brought her stuff. It was a dark purple, almost black, and had a white chest and face, and horns sticking up. When she thanked it it let out a soft “Indeed.” in reply. It was very polite, and gave a curt bow when she handed it the money she owed to the airport service. 

Hana and her Pokémon settled into the place, and were prepared to relax until she got a call. It was robotic, and informed her that the ticket she obtained could be redeemed for a seat at that evening’s challenge. 

She looked to her Pokémon for confirmation. Remi was asleep, so she wrote a note for the solosis. She didn’t want to leave the Pokémon asleep without knowing where she was, but she hated putting her partners in their balls without permission. Skully was awake, so she offered him a ride in her arms. He could always float, but he preferred being close to her. At least he was light, being a ghost and all. 

Hana and Skully made their way back to the stadium, where there was a line to check in. Most of the people were clear fans of either one or the other trainer. The red was probably for… Kabu, the receptionist said? If the town was anything to go by he would be a fire user. She hadn’t read much about him, though the only leaders she really knew of were the model Nessa, the actress Opal, and the rival to Leon Raihan. Though word was Opal had retired two challenges before. That would be interesting. 

Soon they were through the line, and after a brief check that Skully wouldn’t need a seat of his own and that he wouldn’t get antsy watching battles and cause a disruption they went into the stadium to find their seats. A few people were clearing the stadium of grass, leading a few Pokémon that seemed to be wild outside, and escorting a few trainers who seemed to fail the first part of the challenge away. 

After a few minutes a young trainer went onto the field. The announcer told the audience a bit about him. 

“Thanks for tuning in at Motostoke Stadium! The first trainer this batch to face Kabu is Luka, a boy from Wyndon who showed great promise in the Battle Tower Little Leagues with his beginner Pokémon, and now shows much more promise in his Gym Challenge! Taking the field against him is our own Leader Kabu! But is the challenger truly ready for Kabu’s Gigantimax? Unless he’s been to some seriously crazy places he’ll never have seen anything like this before!”

The first part of the battle was normal enough. Other than the crowd cheering on both trainers’ every move it was like the battles Hana had seen her father take part in. But as Kabu got to his last Pokémon, a long bug Pokémon with a lot of legs and a fire moustache, said onscreen to be a Centiscorch, most people in the crowd got a bit hushed. 

Kabu threw his poke ball to his Pokémon, and it came back to him, growing much bigger, to more like the size of a basketball. The challenging trainer did the same. The challenger sent his Pokémon out and it was a bigger version. That was probably the Dynamax thing. But Kabu sent his Pokémon out, and it was much longer. It seemed to have more fire too, and it moved differently. 

Kira’s eyes widened. The original Pokémon were still there. On the screen it seemed they had grown or transformed, but looking down on their physical forms, they were almost see through, and she could faintly pick out the smaller forms inside. But if the screen was right, no one else could see it. Much like she could find and avoid wild Pokémon hiding in the wild, this was some ability she had. 

“And as you see everyone, Leader Kabu has sent out his Gigantimax Centiscorch to match Luka’s Dynamax Yamper! They’re both down to their last Pokémon, and when down to those odds Kabu wins eight out of ten! Will Luka be the trainer to beat those odds?”

No. Luka’s giant yellow puppy fell to the fire centipede. The challenger seemed disappointed, but smiled up at the cheering crowd. “Be here tomorrow! I’ll do it right next time! I will beat this! And you’ll all see me do it!”

Hana watched the crowd filter out of the stadium around her. She waited for most of them to leave before nudging Skully out of her lap. He nodded and floated by her head. 

“So. What do you think? That was very interesting. And it’s glow?” She thought for a moment. “You know how I can find things- people and Pokémon and things they’ve touched- much easier? Well I can also see inside those… the big versions are shells. The Pokémon projecting all their will, all their desire for honor and glory and victory, and making a bigger and stronger version of themselves.” She patted Skully’s head. 

“Would you want to do that? Unleash all your battle potential into the fight for a bit, give it your all?”

The ghost type nodded, fixing his normally wandering single eye on his partner. If he would do that for anyone, it would be her. She was the daughter of his mother’s trainer, and he had known her since he hatched. 

“I thought so. This might be fun after all!” Hana gave a small smile, as they got back to the Inn and returned to their room. Remi was awake, practicing a psychic move. She turned when Hana and Skully came in. She noticed the smile on Hana’s face. 

“We’re gonna have a lot of fun here. Tomorrow do you want to go to the place Leon told us about and ask the professor about Dynamax? We can do a bit of training too! I hope to win, even though it seems unlikely.” 

She flopped down on the bed, yawning. “It’s getting late. I’m gonna get ready for bed. You two feel free to go ahead and go to sleep. Or stay awake to train, but don’t go outside.”

She started getting ready. What did it all mean? The Dynamax thing… what did it have to do with her weird relation to Pokémon, and people too? The strange ability to sense a person or Pokémon’s state of being, and even occasionally locate them? It was strange, but the doublesight of the Dynamax Pokémon was even stranger. 

She would have to take Leon up on his offer and travel through Galar for the gym challenge to find out. That would be fun indeed.


	2. Studies and interviews, in a way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana meets the professor and a new Pokémon partner, and finds out her viewing experience of the Dynamax phenomenon. 
> 
> She also finds herself being quite the fan of the strong fire user from the same region she was born in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back! I hope you’re enjoying this little fic of mine.

Hana stood in front of the Pokémon lab. It wasn’t like she’d never been to a lab before. Her mother was friends with Professor Juniper. So she knew how professors could be, most of the time. She just didn’t know how this professor would be. The people who studied Pokémon could be rather… eccentric. 

She hesitantly knocked on the door. She waited for a while, before hearing yips from the other side. The door opened to a young woman with a side ponytail with heart accessories decorating it. The woman smiled. “Hello! Welcome to my lab! I’m the professor here, but you can just call me Sonia. I’m not much on formalities. Come in!” She motioned for Hana to enter behind her. 

Hana followed the woman in, her partner Pokémon behind her. Skully stayed closer to her shoulder, but Remi wandered around the lab. 

“How can I help you?” Sonia asked, taking a seat in a less cluttered area of the room. 

Hana followed suit. “Um… you don’t mind my solosis partner looking around do you? She’s really smart and likes learning, so…”

Sonia nodded. “That’s perfectly fine! Plenty of more experienced trainers have powerful psychic types. The ones with telepathy sometimes even offer corrections to my studies! It’s quite useful!”

Hana nodded. “Well, I’m new here in Galar, and… I figured the professor would be the best way to find out. There aren’t many studies on Dynamax Pokémon that I can find online. But… how does it work? Is it really true that the big version is just the normal Pokémon unleashing its potential and willing itself to do better by becoming bigger?”

Sonia looked slightly taken aback. “I’m not sure how you came up with that. We’re honestly not sure how the Dynamax phenomenon occurs. I wouldn’t doubt what you said, but what way is there to know? It’s very hard to discover the truth in Dynamax Pokémon because it only happens in certain places.”

Hana nodded. “Well… I saw it. That’s one way to know. It was different from what the video feed showed, so I don’t think others can see it, but the Dynamax Pokémon were like… in a shell. The Gigantimax one was much… much brighter. Much more solid. Almost like it was really there, but it was still a projection.”

Sonia just looked at Hana for a moment, before turning away to her papers and jotting something down. “That is certainly interesting… and how did you see this?”

Hana sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve just always been more in tune with the world. I can understand someone’s state of being, get a bit of a read on their general emotion, and if I’ve been around them a lot I can sense them without seeing them. Pokémon are easier though. This was much more than I ever expected though. It was weird.”

Sonia nodded. “That is very interesting. I would like to ask for your assistance in studying the Dynamax phenomenon. We would have to get everyone’s permission, so this challenge is out, but would you be willing to help with this during the next gym challenge?”

Hana shrugged. “I… someone I met offered to get me an endorsement for this next challenge. So if you don’t mind working around my own challenge…”

Sonia nodded. “That’s even better! You’ll have firsthand experience with what it looks like on the battlefield! Who is it that’s going to endorse you?”

Hana chuckled. “Well, the champion offered… but that feels like it would have a bit too much fame starting off. Especially since I’ve lived in a small-ish mining city for years now. It seems like being endorsed by the champion would draw too much attention. So he offered to ask someone else to endorse me.”

Sonia nodded, a bit of shock in her face. “Oh! So you’re the kid Leon mentioned! Yeah, he did say you had a shiny duskull. I should’ve realized! I mean how many kids have a shiny Pokémon, especially a duskull specifically! I just didn’t even think of it I guess!” She let out a small laugh. 

Hana smiled. “I don’t even think he learned my name, so I don’t blame you. I’m Hana, by the way. Hana Akatsuki. I moved here from Unova.”

Sonia nodded. “Leon asked me to see if you wanted one of the Pokémon I’ve been raising as well. Come with me!” The professor stood and went upstairs, Hana trailing behind. Skully and Remi stayed downstairs, Remi looking at the research papers scattered about and Skully messing around and trying to annoy Remi. 

Sonia led Hana to a room where several Pokémon were playing with each other. There were nine there, three of each of the Pokémon. Sonia closed the door behind her, and Hana found a small blue lizard Pokémon tugging at her pant leg, seemingly trying to get a good look at the different triangles she had sewn onto it to mimic the former dark type elite four member of Unova’s pants. 

She was somewhat of a fan of his, even though he hadn’t been seen in Unova in several years, after a rumored fight among the elite four that led to half of them getting replaced. The mystery of where he went was even more interesting to a young kid who loved the more sinister seeming Pokémon though. 

Sonia noticed the blue Pokémon admiring Hana’s pants. “Oh! That was the runt of the three clutches. He’s the smallest and grows the slowest out of all of them. He likes colorful things though. I’m honestly considering keeping him to study Pokémon reactions to more mundane things in the world. But if you want to consider taking him along I won’t protest.”

Hana looked over to the other Pokémon. Red and white fire rabbits, green monkeys, and the blue lizards. They all had the faint glow of potential Pokémon who grew into particularly strong fighters had when she first saw them. But the ‘runt’ as Sonia called him had the brightest glow. It looked almost like the faint glow she saw of Centiscorch before it Gigantimaxed. The other two types of the Pokémon had one of the three with that glow as well. 

“Um… can some Pokémon of a species Gigantimax when others can’t? Because… some of these Pokémon look like the Centiscorch Kabu used.”

Sonia nodded. “Not all Pokémon of a species can Gigantimax. But we don’t know of a Gigantimax form for the starters… could you point them out?”

Hana pointed to the three, one of which was the runt hanging around her. “I want to take this one along. He has a lot of potential. Plus… he seems to have been excluded by the others. Why else would he come up to us when the others are playing?”

Sonia nodded. “You can pick him up if you want. They’re all docile, we- myself and my sometimes assistant- raise them to be calm with potential trainers.”

Hana nodded, and offered her hands out to the small Pokémon. He approached and put his hands on hers. “Can I pick you up little one?” He nodded, and she carefully picked him up and let him onto her shoulder. “What’s he called- the Pokémon I mean? I’m not familiar with Galarian Pokémon, other than the fact that you have regional variants like Meowth and Mr Mime and others.”

“He’s a Sobble. The fire type is Scorbunny and the grass is Grookey.” Sonia nodded and called the scorbunny and grookey that Hana said seemed like ones that could Gigantimax over and put a marking on the bands on their arms. She then turned to Hana. “I’ll have to take his band off. We use them to indicate that they’re in training, and are the Pokémon we’re raising.”

Hana nodded. “Show her your arm little one… I’ll have to come up with a name for you.” The sobble held out the arm with the band, and Sonia cut it off. “Good job!” Hana smiled at the small water type. 

“I’m gonna get going. I wanted to watch the rematch the guy who challenged Kabu yesterday promised. If only to see more Dynamax Pokémon.” Hana smiled at the sobble gripping her arm. “This’ll be fun, don’t you think?” The small lizard chirped its name in reply. 

Sonia nodded. “Oh! Could I ask you to take notes on what you see during a Dynamax?”

Hana nodded. “Of course! And thank you for letting me meet my new partner here! I’ll see you!”

Sonia nodded and started working with the Pokémon as Hana left. 

Skully and Remi followed Hana out, bobbing around the yet unnamed Sobble. “Meet our new teammate! He doesn’t have a nickname yet, but we seem to have a theme. You two have names that end with an i or e-y. So let’s follow that. I’d say Sammy, but Skully is already an S name… Why not Buddy? Does that sound good?” 

Remi and Skully seemed hesitant, but the sobble chirped his agreement to going by that name instantly. 

“Alright! Buddy it is! I’m glad you like it!” Hana smiled. “I’m gonna take you back to the Inn we’re staying at. I’d take one of you, but I think you should all stay in the room for now. Get to know each other!”

She called the flying taxi to take her back to Motostoke. She dropped her partners off at the inn before going back to the stadium and reserving a seat. She decided to pay for the vip pass to meet Kabu after the battle. 

All she had to do now was wait for Luka to get there. He wouldn’t have to redo the first part of the challenge since he already passed it, so all he had to do was the battle. 

Soon they started letting spectators in. Kabu was already on the field, waiting for Luka to prepare his team and approach the field. 

The trainer came out, uniform clad and determined. The live feed focused on his face, and there was a passion there. He sent out his Pokémon, and the music played. That was an interesting thing about the gym battles. There was music, and people all had their chants. It seemed like all the gym leaders probably had their own, as Kabu’s was focused on fiery passion. 

The battle went similar to before, though Luka seemed more ready to counter Kabu’s attacks. And when they sent out their dynamaxed- or gigantimaxed? Pokémon, Luka sent out what was probably a water type. A giant turtle Pokémon, with a rough looking shell, faced the gigantimaxed Centiscorch. The display screen flashed, showing it to be a Dynamax Drednaw. It was water and rock. So either way it was good against the fire centipede. 

The two giant monsters exchanged blows, their trainers attempting to stay out of the way. But soon enough the Drednaw won, leaving Kabu in defeat. Cheers erupted out from the crowd. Luka seemed to be a fan favorite. Though, that made sense. He was one of four trainers so far to make it to Motostoke, and the only one to complete the first trial to get to battle Kabu. And now he had won. That was good reason to be a favorite. 

As all the spectators who hadn’t paid for VIP access filtered out Hana tried to find where to go. She had the pass in her pocket. She really needed to look into a backpack or overly large purse. Especially once she started traveling for the gym challenge. 

She watched as a few people made their way back to the lobby. That was probably where to find at least someone to point her in the right direction. 

She followed people out of the stadium area, and noticed a small line in the lobby. They all seemed to be showing the VIP passes to a man in a uniform, who then let them through to what was probably the locker room or something. 

She showed her pass to the man and he let her pass, warning her that there may be a bit of a wait as Leader Kabu made a point of seeing off anyone who defeated him as he was the first real roadblock for many, but she was free to explore and even go onto the field as long as she didn’t battle with any of the others. 

She made her way into the locker room, which had at least a better smell than it would if it were for a sports team. Though she was more interested in the field. So she moved around many of the fans just interested in seeing Kabu, and went out to the field. She looked around. The stadium looked huge from down there. 

The seats were all empty, though there were tiny specks that were probably janitors cleaning up the mess people might have left. It seemed wild that in a few months she would be battling in stadiums like this, filled with people, both cheering for her to win, and for her to lose. 

The field itself seemed normal. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But she felt it. Energy, crackling around her. It almost felt like a static charge, making her hair stand on end. She took the small notebook she had grabbed and put in her pocket and started taking notes, both about the battle and how the stadium itself felt when it was dormant. 

She didn’t realize how long she had been sitting on the field, paying no mind to the people who had also gone onto the field to get away from the cramped locker room or to stand where Kabu or their preferred gym challenger of the past had stood. She didn’t notice as they slowly left. She did notice when she was no longer alone, though. Someone was behind her, had quietly approached. She spun around, jumping to her feet. 

A graying man in the red uniform of the gym stood before her. He raised an eyebrow. It had to be Kabu, of course. She was, after all, paying for the chance to talk to him. And no one else seemed to be around. 

“Oh! S-sorry, I lost track of time. Am I holding you up? I’ll go, I just was studying- I mean, the field is interesting, the energy here is a bit overwhelming, and- I should go. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, I- I’ll go.” Hana ducked her head sheepishly. 

Kabu shook his head. “You’re fine. Not many people come here. I mean, I don’t have as many fans as most of the gym leaders, so it’s not too much time. I’m supposed to only spend a little time with each fan, but don’t worry about rushing. It may be a bit before another challenge happens.”

“Um… well, I’m sorry but… I’m not exactly a typical… fan? Your battle was super cool! And the Dynamax- Gigantimax- thing, that’s crazy! But I’m super new to Galar so I don’t think I could be considered a fan?” Hana shrugged. 

She felt kinda bad. He had just said he didn’t have as many fans as most of them and then she went and said to his face that she wasn’t a fan. “I just uh… I have a few questions. About dynamaxing, about what it’s like on the field! What’s it like to be one of Galar’s Gym Leaders!?” Her face lit up. It really was exciting to think about. Being there, in front of a crowd? 

She shook her head at herself, holding her posture rigidly controlled. If she seemed too enthusiastic she would be acting immaturely. She couldn’t be underestimated. 

“Well, being a gym leader here is definitely different. I’m from another region, and my family there has had several gym leaders of our town. I wasn’t one, but my uncle was. His granddaughter is now. So… fire types definitely run in the family.”

Hana nodded. “Is it different because of Dynamax and Gigantimax battles? Or is it the competition of the place? And… where- what region are you from? I’m not from Galar either, and it’s definitely different.” 

Kabu chuckled. “It’s different in a lot of ways. The champion is much more involved. I’m from Hoenn, and our champion is… rather eccentric. He prefers contests to battling.”

Hana’s eyes widened. “So you must be from Fallarbor! I’ve never been there before but I know that’s where the fire leader is! I was born in Lilycove!” She smiled widely. “Aren’t most of the gym leaders natives? And- and you’re the first gym that people find as a roadblock! And you’re from Hoenn! I’ve gotta tell Skully!” 

“Yes, I’m from Fallarbor. And yes, here in Galar I’m the only foreign born leader in the major league. But the minor league, which is for younger trainers or ones who want to travel with their Pokémon but don’t want the stress of the harder competition, has a few foreign leaders.” He smiled. “It’s nice to meet a fellow Hoenn-born trainer though.”

Hana nodded, still barely containing her excitement. “So, whats it like having a Dynamax or Gigantimax partner on your side? How fun are the battles when a Pokémon unleashes all its potential like that!?”

“I’m not sure about the… all its potential thing, but it is rather fun. Both teams going all out, full force? That’s my style. But brute force only gets you so far.”

Hana nodded. “And… how much do you know about Dynamaxing? Other than just the Pokémon grow big. Can you see the smaller Pokémon inside?”

“Smaller pokemon?” Kabu shrugged. “I don’t think so. It’s just… I mean dynamaxing only happens in Galar, and last year we found out it was because of the Pokémon Eternatus, but no one knows much other than that.”

Hana nodded. “Well, I’ve gotta go, but know you have one more fan. I never expected to see someone from the place I was born so strong! Thank you for your time.”

Kabu smiled. “Hey, you spent your money to come talk to me and it earned me a new fan. That seems like a good thing for me. Have a good day.” 

Hana left, and returned to the Inn. It was getting into the afternoon, but it was worth it. Her Pokémon were curled up. Buddy was in the window, while Skully and Remi were in the shadows. Skully moves away from their spot and to Hana when she got back though. She didn’t know if he even could sleep. 

“It was really cool Skully! He’s from Hoenn, and he’s super strong! I think I’m becoming a fan, and fast! It was cool. And I learned a bit about Dynamaxing at least. I still say it’ll be easiest to learn about Dynamax when we’re out there doing it.”

Skully let out a menacing chuckle at his trainer’s excitement. He wasn’t being scary on purpose, but that was the only way he knew how to laugh. Hana was used to it. 

“Cmon, lets find somewhere to eat. Probably catering. These streets can get confusing, I don’t wanna get lost, especially if we leave while their asleep.”

Hana pulled her laptop out of her suitcase and connected to the Inn WiFi. She started doing research on places around the area they were in. Skully nestled against her, and they settled in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any inconsistencies in Kabu’s characterization. The gym leaders are a bit flat in the games, most of them at least, and I haven’t found anything about Kabu in the anime so far so I’m going with what I can. Most of what I found online said he’s hotheaded but actually not, so that’s very helpful. But I did my best and I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment or kudos if you liked it, comment what you think will happen, how Hana will react to the other leaders, etc.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Pokémon has long been my favorite thing, and even with all the backlash sword is probably my favorite, other than Ruby and White solely due to nostalgia. But I hope you enjoy Hana’s story. I’ve always loved the aura aspect of Pokémon, and the Dynamax phenomenon seemed like an interesting way to find an aura story. So welcom! Please leave a comment or kudos if you and enjoy, and always have a champion time!


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